Hat-sewing machine



WHITELAW. HAT SEWING MACHINE.

7 APPLICATION FILED JAN-2|, I916. 1,327,972.

Patented J an. 13, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- J. WHITELAW. HAT SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN-2!, 1916.

Patented J an. 13, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m wm fijlf a 1 I] I lm l w kw Q Q \MW 11 x Nb 5 a I L j I g J. WHITELAW.

HAT SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-21, i916- vPatented Jan. 13,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

J. WHITELAW.

HAT SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-2], 1916.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

MISSOURI.

HAT-SEWING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan.13, 1920.

Application filed January 21, 1916. Serial No. 73,288.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES VHITELAW, a citizen of the United States, resi ing at t. Louis, in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, h ve invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hat-sewing machines, and has for its principal object to provide a simple, efiicient, easily-operated, high-speed machine for stitching into mens hats (either before or after the exterior decorative band or bow-tied ribbon has been applied) the leather sweat-band together (if desired) with an edging cord that will lie along and under the outer sweat band against the hat body.

Among the objects oi my invention are to provide work-handling mechanism capable of handling a wide variety of bat materials of different thicknesses and textures, with or without the external bands and bows; to

correlate the elements of the work-handling mechanism in such a mannerthat the work may be easily inserted and removed and that the hat elements may be guided to facilitate rapid stitching, an work-handling mechanism and stitch-forming mechanism in such fashion that the needle in its penetrating excursion may enter the exposed side of the sweat-leather, and be guided to insure proper stitch formation and to minimize danger of needle breakage. Other and further objects of my invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of the complete machine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the feeding mechanism and stitching mechanism the stitch-making point, on line 2 -2 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 3 shows the parts in operation.

Fig. 4: is an exaggerated view showing generally the character of stitch and nature of the work done.

Fig. 5 is an elevation from the stitching end of the machine. Y

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a detailoi the presser wheel cam. Fig. 8 is a detail of a sweat-band guide.

to associate the Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of the feed shaft ratchet and driving ,pawl. I

In the machine shown inthe drawings 21 indicates the frame, having a lower armor bed 22 carrying portions of the work handling mechanism,- a post 23,-.and an overhanging arm "2& that supports complemental portions of the work handling mechanism an the stitch forming mechanism, so that the stitch-forming mechanism is wholly above the work. g

The arm 2 L carries the in which is mounted a suitable stitch-forming mechanism that, in the broader aspects of my invention, may be of any suitable type, but that, for best embodiment of my invention, I prefer to be of the lock-stitch stitching head 26 rrnn s'ra rns PATENT orrion.

variety, providing a curved needle 27, a

second-threachc-arrying loop-taker, or bobbin-carrying rotary hook'28, and a two-part bight-casting lcoper 29cooperating with the needle. The needle, in its penetrating stroke, works inward or toward the post 23 of the machine so that, when the hat is placed on the machine with its brim overhanging a portion of the-lower arm or bed 22, and with the sweat leather properly'positioned inside of the crown t the edge of the crown opening, as shownin Fig. 3, the needle may strike the leather first and consequently the needle punctures in the leather will be smooth-edged. a

p In attaching the sweat leather or band S to the hat bodyH, it'is often desirable, to lay along and under the exposed edge of the sweat band, against the hat body, an edging cord E, and to secure place by the same stitching that connects the sweatband to the hat, and the particular machine herein illustrated is designed to accomplish this work, penetrating stroke, should preferably enter the sweat band S near its outer edge, pass under theedgingcord E and into and out of t is hatbody (preferably without passing through the body. material) at approximately the bend it where the brim h? curvingly merges into the crown portion h of the hat, (see Fig. l). The point of needle emergence preferably should be close to the edge cord so that, with a lock stitch machine, the line of bobbin thread I) connecting the points of needle emergence. may lie close under the edging cord. To hold the extreme edge of the sweat band and the finishing cord firmly in position and snugagainst the the latter in The needle, on each p stltch-forming mechanism,

as, specifically,

body of the hat, the cord and the edge of the sweat band are overseamed, bights a of the needle thread 92 being preferably overcast, as shown in Fig. 4: to lay one overseaming bight for each thrust of the needle. This may be accomplished by the action of a looper device 29, which engages the needle thread, a, between the last-completed stitch and the needle, while the drawn after each penetratin excursion, and which carries a bight n of the needle thread across the bent surface of the work, and lays such bightin position partly to encompass the point at which the needle will emerge on its next penetrating stroke. loop a made by the needle on a stroke emerges, to be engaged 28, within the confines of the overcast bight a that hasbeen laid by the looper to receive it. And so, as shown at the right of Fig. 4, the inter-engagement of needle and bobbin thread will key the overcast bight so as to retain it when the stitch is set.

mechanism to this end is fully described in my Patent No. 1,176,415 granted March 21st, 1916, on an application that was copending herewith; but it will be ap parent from the drawing in Fig. 4 that a neat, fine, regular stitching effect is pro duced, minimizing the display of bobbin thread and securing the permanency of lockstitch formation.

Of course it is important that the three hat members to be connected, namely the hat body H, the sweat band S and the edging cord E be presented in very accurate correlation at the stitch-making point of the and that the bend it in the hat body at the juncture of the crown and brim portions be sharply defined at the time the stitch is made so that of the needle in the hat body E. In

king point, is firmly positioned by the coaction of three elements, the one a feed member, specifically a feed wheel, 31, the second a presser element working on the crown side of the hat-bend a rotatable and the third illustrated as a finger 33 projecting from the bottom-plate 26 of the stitching head and having a presser flange 33*; the two presser elements acting to hold the hat body bend-defining needle is withstitch making point by instrumentalities that facilitate handling and insure proper relative location of the hat elements at such stitch making point. The hat brim if is guided to the feed Wheel 31 as by a brim table 36 that preferably has hinged thereto a curved leaf extension 37 preferably extending far enough around the hat practically to hold it up without further support. The upper or outer edge of thesweat band is guided by two guides 38 and 39 having their notched guiding ends overhanging beyond and slightly elevated above the brim table 36,

a bracket 40 on the stationary stitching head structure, to stand in front of the stitching point. The guide 38, nearest the stitching point, is mounted in suitable fashion to permit an adjustment both as to elevation and to extent of overhang, as by means of the screw 38 extending through a slot in the attached end of said guide (see Fig. 8). he cord is guided to lie between the sweat-band and the hat-body the cord guide 41, spring located just in front of the stitching point, carried by the bracket 40, and provided with a cord-slot 42. he spring'y extremity, -13, of the guide, is the path of travel of the sweat and acts as a drag member or presser-spring for the said edge, serving to bend it down snugly against the cord and the bend of the hat, in most advantageous position to be stitched with minimum strain on the threads. The parts contiguous to the stitching point are preferably related for particular advantage in cooperating with such a long, slender needle as may be employed in this form of work, a very fine needle being necessary in order that the punctures in the leather may be of minimum size, and the needle of necessity being band edge tically requisite to proper the stitching head. The plane of needle reciprocation is generally transverse to the plane of the feeding operation, but may advantageously be angled at slightly less than 90 degrees to the plane of the feed at the stitching point, so that the point of needle emergence will not be exactly opposite to the point .of needle entrance, and so that, with a given distance between the line of successive needle entrances and the line of successive needle emergencies, the bight of the thread in the work may creased. The feed wheel 31, presser wheel 32, and presser proportioning of needle to the cooperating hook mechanism positioned in 28. Thus the presser wheel 32 is preferably constructed with a needle-guide surface 3%,

properly hardened, and adapted to act on the side-pointed needle to guide its point in the desired line of travel. Also the finger 33, that extends close to the intended point of needle emergence, is provided with a needle guiding surface 33*, preferably somewhat concaved, and disposed in the line of needle-travel to receive the point of the needle, if the latter be deflected slightly beyond true arc in its passage through the work, and to guide it accurately toward the hook 28, so tending to insure proper needle and hook cooperation. And further the feed wheel 31 is preferably so constructed that appropriate notches 31 (in this specific instance tooth valleys between feedand-driving teeth of the wheel) come into register with the plane of needle passage after each feeding 'movement of the wheel, so that if said feed wheel be inadvertently adjusted too high, and the needle caused to penetrate clear through the bend in thehat body, the slender needle may travel through the registering groove 31 in the feed wheel without danger of blunting or breakage.

I preferably construct my machine, as herein shown, in such fashion that in normal operation neither presser member 32 or 33 need be moved in order to insert or remove the work, and so that a simple depression of the feed mechanism and its connected parts will free the machine for such work-insertion or removal. It will be observed in Fig. 2 that between the lowest plane of the mechanism carried by the stitching head 26 and the upper surface of the arm 22 there is large free clearance space that may be utilized for manual. manipulation of the hat, if the feed wheel and brimtable be depressed, and in accordance with my invention 1 make the hat supporting and feeding part-s readily depressible. And in the special construction and mounting of the feed wheel and its associated parts as herein shown I attain many minor but important advantages.

As best shown in Fig. 1, the end 45 of the frame bed 22 is faced OK at an inclination to the vertical, and the feed wheel 31 I mount on pivot 16 in a reciprocating carriage 47, that slides in guides 48 along the inclined end of the bed, so that, as the wheel is moved downwardly from: its coacting presser wheel 32, it also recedes laterally from the presser wheel. The sliding carriage 17 also carries on lug 47 a bracket 49 supporting the brim table 36 and its connected parts, so that when the carriage is depressed the work may very easily be arranged upon the brim table and in relation to the feed wheel, quite unobstructed by the presser parts above.

The feed wheel 31 is preferably a fiat,

relatively thin gear wheel of the beveled type, with its top inclined outwardly and its bottom arranged in mesh relation with a spur gear 51, that is suitably ratchetdriven from the power shaft of the machine. By this combined gear-wheel and feed-wheel construction I attain several very desirable advantages, in simplification as a feeding construction, reduction of number of parts, precision in the movements of the feed wheel by virtue of the location of driving gear 51 to work at its periphery, disposition of the feed wheel to allow ample space for the passage of the bow of the ornamental hatband, (if the hat body be thusornamented before the sweat band is attached), and provision of the needle-clearance notches 31 as an incident to the cutting of the gear teeth.

Of course the driving mechanism for the spur gear 51 must accommodate the reciprocations of the carriage 47, and means under the control of the operator must be provided for depressing the carriage 47 at will from normally-raised position. In the particular construction shown the feed shaft 53 is made in three sections, 53*, 53 and 53, connected by the universal joints 54: and '54:, the front end of the shaft being axially fixed in the carriages? and its rear end 53 being slidably mounted in a bearing provided in the extremity of the frame bed 22.

The feed wheel has its teeth out with a spacing on the addendum-line equal to the desired feed-length between stitches, so that the feed wheel may be moved forward only one tooth after each stitch, and will locate a tooth-valley in the plane of needle-travel after each such movement, and of course the gear 46 may be cut with any desired number of teeth of the proper pitch. The shaft 53 is rotated through an angle equal to one tooth. of the gear 51 for each rotation of the main shaft of the machine, as, specifically, by providing on the shaft end 53 a ratchet 56 having teeth equal in number to the teeth of gear 51,-the ratchet being suitably driven as by a pawl 57 mounted on a lever58 that is rocked by a link 59 operated by an eccentric 60 on the main shaft of the machine, holding pawl 61, in the form of a flat leaf spring, being provided to prevent backward rotation of the feed shaft.

For controlling the reciprocating movements of the carriage 4-7 a bell crank lever 63 is journaled in the hollow frame bed 22., with its long arm 63 provided with a wear plate 6 L slidably engaging between the collar 54'. on shaft 53" and a pin 65 on the carriage 47, and the short arm 63 being acted on by a coil spring 66, positioned by a guide rod 67 slidingly interposed between the lever and the frame, so as normally to thrust the lever arm 63 upward to hold the carriage in raised position. A suitable knee lever 68 connected with the bell crank lever may be anda.

'tion, so that exceedingl slides diagonally,

operated to overcome the resistance of the spring and depress the carriage. The work ing position of the feed Wheel is determined by adjustment of a stop screw 7 0 carried by the sliding carriage and arranged to abut against the under side of the frame arm 22, a clamping screw 71 being provided for locking the stop screw in adjusted posi- 1 fine adjustment of the feed wheel may be secured and maintained.

While it is not ordinarily necessary to move the presser wheel in inserting and re moving work, it is desirable that the presser wheel shall have a limited range of yielding movement for automatic compensation for slight variations in thickness of the work, and shall also be bodily movable when desired, so that it may be swung clear away from normal position, for the purpose of giving more facile access to parts of the stitch forming mechanism, and for other purposes outside of the normal running of the machine. With these desiderata in view I preferably mount the presser wheel 32 on a bracket 75 that is pivoted as at 76 to the underside of the stitching head and provided on opposite sides of the pivot with cam surfaces 77 and 78 to be acted upon respectively by cams 79 and 80 on opposite sides of the pivotal bearing 81 of a lever 82 that acts to throw the presser wheel into or out of operative position accordingly as said lever is depressed to the position shown in Fig. 7, or elevated to opposite position. In order that the presser wheel may yield some what even when forced to innermost position by the cam 82, the cam itself is made yielding, as by mounting it loosely on the stud 81 so that it may yield against the tension of a spring82 encircling the stud 81 and interposed between the side of the cam and a stop 83 on the end of the stud.

85 indicates a convenient retainer for severed thread ends.

In operation, cam-lever 82 stands normally as shown, holding the presser wheel yieldingly in operating position. To insert the work, knee lever 68 is thrown to the right, lowering the carriage 47 that carries the feed wheel and the brim table. The hat is placed on the brim'table and leaf, the sweat band has one end placed appropriately, and as the knee-lever is released the feed wheel outwardly and upwardly, into the space between the two presser-members bringing its peripheral feed-teeth into opposition to the presser wheel, so that the feed may be effected both by the edge-points of the teeth that lie in, and define, the hatbend and by the tooth-crests. The sweat band is laid in the notches of guides 38 and 39, and as the hat body is substantially supported by the brim table and leaf, and the cord E is automatically guided by part 41,

the machine may be run rapidly, for the operator has, mainly, only to steady the hat and direct the sweat band into guide 39 to insure proper stitching of the several parts together. Parts 70 and 38 are readily adjustable from the front of the machine to compensate for changes in thickness of the hat bodies, presser wheel 32 yielding to effect its compensation. When lever 82 is raised the wheel 32 is moved away somewhat, but it may be further moved manually to wide-open position.

It will be understood that while, for purposes of full disclosure, I have described in detail one specific embodiment of my invention that I have found to be satisfactory in practice, and have stated some of the reasons that make certain specific features desirable, my invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific structures herein described, and that many changes may be made in the construction of the machine without departure from the spirit of my invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a hat sewing machine the combination of a frame having upper and lower arms, a slide member mounted on the lower arm for generally vertical displacement, a work-supporting feed-member carried by said slide member and a brim table also carried by said slide member, both movable therewith up toward and down from the parts carried by the upper arm, complemental presser means and stitch forming means, said presser and stitch forming means carried by the upper arm.

2. In a hat sewing machine, the combination of a frame having upper and lower supports, stitch forming mechanism carried by the upper support and having a needle arranged to strike inwardly on its penetrating stroke, an inner presser member to act on the hat brim, an outer presser member to act on the hat crown, said members carried by the upper support and normally located to receive work inserted from below, a depressible feed wheel slidable up and down with respect to the lower arm normally extending into the space between said pressers sharply to bend the hat body therebetween,

and means for slidably depressing said feed cated to receive work inserted from below, a depressible feed wheel normally extending into the space between to bend the hat body therebetween, a brim table, said feed wheel and brim table carried by the lower support, and means for depressing the feed wheel and brim table thereby to free the machine for work insertion.

I. In a hat sewing machine the combination of presser means to act against the brim and crown at their juncture, stitch forming mechanism thereabove, a work-supporting and edge-feeding wheel slopingly positioned to enter the angle of hat crown and brim at an angle to both, a slide member carry ing said wheel, a frame providing a guide way for said slide sloped in the same general direction as the wheel, and means for driving the stitch forming mechanism and feed wheel.

5. In a hat sewing machine, the combination of a frame having upper and lower supports, a feed wheel having a narrow edge to cooperate with the work, said wheel being outwardly inclined from the vertical toward its top so that its face may recede from the banded part of the hat-body, a slide bearing said wheel carried by the lower support and movable therein in a generally vertical direction, and complemental mechanism carried by the upper support comprising presser means for cooperation with the wheel and stitch forming means including a needle arranged for reciprocation to enter and emerge from the same side of the work that is positioned by the feed wheel and presser means.

6. In 'a hat sewing machine the combination of a frame having upper and lower supports, a horizontal presser-wheel having a downwardly-tapering edge, a horizontal finger spaced from said wheel-edge adjacent the plane of the top face of the wheel, said wheel and finger carried by the upper arm; a flat feed wheel having a toothed beveled narrow feeding periphery carried by the lower arm and extending into the space between the presser wheel and finger; said feed wheel having its top inclined toward the presser wheel, and means for driving the feed wheel.

7. In a hat sewing machine, a bevel-gear formed feed wheel having peripheral workfeeding teeth, and a driving means cooperating with said teeth to rotate the wheel.

8. In a hat sewing machine, a bevel-gear formed feed wheel having peripheral work feeding teeth, a gear cooperating with said teeth to rotate the wheel, and means for rotating said gear. a

9. In a hat sewing machine, a feed wheel having peripheral beveled gear teeth, presser means cooperating with the toothed periphcry, and. complemental gearing engaging said pressers sharply ing upper and lower supports,

the toothed periphery to rotate the feed wheel.

10. In a hat sewing machine, stitch forming means comprising a reciprocating needle, a feed wheel arranged to present the bend of the hat to receive the thrust of the needle and having peripheral gear teeth, presser means cooperating with the toothed periphery, a gear engaging the toothed periphery, and means for rotating said gear to stop the feed wheel always with a tooth-valley in register with the path of needle travel.

11. In a hat sewing machine, a frame having upper and lower supports, stitch forming means carried by the upper support, a feed wheel carried by the lower support to position a bend in the hat to receive the needle, means for actuating said feed wheel, means for depressing said feed wheel to permit of work insertion, presser means normally positioned for cooperation with the raised feed wheel, and carried by the upper support, and a sweat band guide also carried by said upper support.

12. In a hat sewing machine, a frame having upper and lower supports, stitch forming means carried by the upper support, a feed wheel carried by the lower support to position a bend in the hat to receive the needle, means for actuating said feed wheel, means for depressing said feed wheel to permit of work insertion, and carried by the upper support and normally positioned for cooperation with the work when presented by the raised feed wheel, presser means, a sweat band guide, and a drag member to work on the edge of the sweat'band.

13. In a hat sewing-machine, a frame havstitch forming means carried by the upper support, a feed wheel carried by the lower support to position a bend in the hat to receive the needle, means for actuating said, feed wheel, means for depressing said feed wheel to permit of work insertion, and carried by'the upper support and normally positioned for cooperation with the work when presented by the raised feed wheel, pressed means, a sweat band guide, and a resilient drag memher to work on the edge of'the sweat band.

14:. In a hat sewing machine, 'a frame having upper and lower supports, stitch forming means carried by the upper support, a feed wheel carried by the lower support to osition a bend in the hat to receive the needle, means for actuating said feed wheel, means for depressing said feed wheel to per mit of work insertion, and carried by the upper support and normally positioned for cooperation with the work when presented by the raised feed wheel, presser means, a sweat band guide, and a cord guide.

15. In a hat sewing machine, a frame having upper and lower supports, stitch forming means carried y the upper support, a

feed wheel carried by the lower support to position a bend in the hat to receive the needle, means for actuating said feed wheel, means for depressing said feed wheel to per mit of work insertion, and carried by the upper support and normally positioned for cooperation with the work when presented by the raised i'eed wheel, presser means, a sweat band guide, and a cord guide having a yielding tip to drag upon the edge portion of the sweat band.

16. In a hat sewing machine, the combination of a frame providing a lower arm and an upper arm, stitch forming mechanism carried by said upper arm comprising a reciprocating needle moving inwardly on its penetrating stroke, a complem-e-ntal second thread carrier, and a bigiht casting looper arranged to over-cast bights of needle thread between penetrating strokes of the needle, each partially to encompass the point of emergence of the needle from the work on the subsequently made penetrating eX- cursion, a presser wheel carried by said upper arm, and a feed wheel carried by the lower arm cooperating with said presser wheel to position the work with respect to the stitch forming mechanism.

17. In a hat sewing machine, the combination of means for supporting a hat, substantially determining the position or" the side of the hat crown at the stitch. making point, stitch forming means, a feed wheel inclined to extend obliquely away from the side of a hat crown/at the stitch making point, presser means cooperating with said inclined feed'wheel, and means for moving the feed wheel toward and from the pressermeans.

18. In a hat sewing machine, the combination of an upright depressible feed wheel adapted to enter the angle of the hat crown and brim, a cooperating horizontal presser wheel adapted to press against the inside edge of the crown, and laterally yielding means normally maintaining the presser wheel in position to cooperate with the feed wheel.

19. In a hat sewing machine, the combination'of an upright feed wheel, yielding means normally maintaining said feed wheel in operative position, coaoting presser means including a horizontal presser wheel, means for depressing said feed wheel with respect to the normally positioned presser means for conditioning the mechanism to receive the work, and yielding means, normally maintaining the presser wheel in operating position, movable to free said presser wheel for lateral movement away from the normal position of the feed wheel.

20. In a hat sewing machine, the combination of a frame having upper and lower supports, a depressible carriage mounted in said lower support, spring opposed means for depressing said carriage, a feed wheel and a brim support mounted on the carriage; a crown presser wheel, a brim presser fin ger, sweat band guiding means, a cord guide and stitch forming mechanism, all carried by the upper support and normally positioned for coaction with a hat as presented by the feed wheel and brim support, said stitch forming mechanism comprising a needle working inward, a second thread carrier and a bight-casting looper arranged to overcast bights of needle thread across the sweat band edge and the cord.

21. In a hat sewing machine, a supporting arm, a presser-wheel carried thereby, having a needle guiding border portion on its upper surface, and a curved reciprocating needle arranged above said presser wheel, working across and in cooperation with said border portion.

22. In a hat sewing machine, stitch fornr ing mechanism comprising a curved reciprocating needle and a loop-taker, and work presenting means comprising a device for presenting a bend in the hat and presser means, said presser means affording on both sides of the hat bend, needle guide surfaces for coaction with the needle to direct it to the work and from the work to the loop taker.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES WHITEIJAW. In the presence of- N. G. BUTLER, JOHN D. RIPPEY. 

